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Steelers defense no longer giving out internships

No time to wait for Steelers rookies

By Alan Robinson
Published: Saturday, May 17, 2014

The Steelers defense isn't giving out internships any longer.

Not that long ago, not even the early round draft picks were expected to start right away. Troy Polamalu didn't. Cam Heyward didn't. Ziggy Hood didn't. Lawrence Timmons didn't. Even Rod Woodson didn't.

Once these Steelers report to training camp July 25, inside linebacker Ryan Shazier and defensive end Stephon Tuitt are expected to push their way into the lineup and stay there. There's not only room for them, there's a great need for them.

When a defense declines during successive 8-8 seasons, there's no time for apprenticeships.

“Sometimes in the past, we've been in a position where our draft picks don't necessarily have to play for a year or so,” defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. “This is definitely not the case in this situation.”

If Shazier and Tuitt start in Week 1 and stay in the lineup all season, it would be the first time since 1971 the Steelers had multiple rookie starters on defense.

“Both of these players, if all develops as anticipated, are going to get a lot of playing time,” LeBeau said.

In 1971, linebacker Jack Ham, defensive end Dwight White and safety Mike Wagner became starters right away and remained so for about a decade. Thirty years later in 2001, inside linebacker Kendrell Bell started every game, and nose tackle Casey Hampton started 11 games, but Hampton didn't break into the lineup until after five games.

They've been with the Steelers for barely a week, but already there has been much for Shazier and Tuitt to learn. They began learning the basics during the three-day rookie minicamp that winds up Sunday.

“The information is flying at you,” said Shazier, the former Ohio State linebacker who led the Big Ten with 143 tackles last season. “You just learned a little bit of it not long ago, and now you're out there trying to digest it and play. It's kind of fast.”

Things are moving much faster on the Steelers' defense than they were a year ago too, as Shazier and Tuitt add speed and athleticism that were missing last season.

Shazier wasn't just one of major college football's top defensive playmakers last season, with 221⁄2 tackles for a loss and six sacks, his 4.38 speed in the 40 was the fastest of any linebacker at the NFL Combine. Shazier, who is 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds, ran a 4.36 at Ohio State's pro day.

“It's going to be fun with him, to be honest,” LeBeau said. “He has the athleticism to drop back into coverage and match up. He has speed. I think it's going to be a problem.”

The Steelers were precariously thin in talent and depth along the defensive line — only Heyward and Steve McLendon have started there for them —- before drafting the 6-foot-5, 303-pound Tuitt, who had 191⁄2 sacks for Notre Dame the past two seasons — 12 in 2012.

“You want a guy, especially with the height that he has, that can push the pocket,” defensive line coach John Mitchell said. “He gets his hands up; he's knocked down a lot of passes. You're going to see a guy who has had a lot of production.”

How badly did the Steelers need another pass-rushing end? Their defensive line produced only 14 sacks in more than 900 combined pass-rush attempts last season.

Tuitt thinks the Steelers' defense is a good fit for him, but he said it's hard not to get overwhelmed early. It's already evident to him that, compared to college football, the NFL “is more of an adult game.”

“I have a lot to learn,” he said. “This defense, you've got to take the playbook and 24/7 look at it. You've got to get in the playbook.”

if these guys cant win a starting spot from day one it says a lot about them

1) First ballot HOF, ROTY
2) All Pro first year, first round talent that fell to us in second
3) Starter for years to come, cant believe he fell
4) Absolute steal of draft, 2nd round grade
5) Back up at first then starter for 10 years
6) Incredible depth and ST demon
7) Amazing value, shoulda went 3 rounds earlier

if these guys cant win a starting spot from day one it says a lot about them

...or it says alot about the Def Coord being incapable to adapt to the players he actually has and not the ones he wishes he had. And Coord can look great with the perfect combination of players. The truly great ones can do more with less.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

BINGO. But for Dick to come out and say this is the time to get rookies playing season 1 is colossal. LeBoo has actually adapted, or at least he is attempting to.

“Sometimes in the past, we've been in a position where our draft picks don't necessarily have to play for a year or so,” defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. “This is definitely not the case in this situation.”

BINGO. But for Dick to come out and say this is the time to get rookies playing season 1 is colossal. LeBoo has actually adapted, or at least he is attempting to.

Good point. I have given Lebeau a hard time but I do believe he has been handcuffed by slow aging vets. It will be interesting to see what he does with some speed. I would love to see LeBeau have the Shark, Mitchell and Troy on the field all at the same time...bringing that boom along with ability to rush the passer and cover the pass. If LeBeau is truly creative he will make this happen.

LeBeau made adjustments to his scheme last year and, despite what some people want to believe, recent rookies have played a lot in this defense...

These guys aren't trying to break into a #1 defense on an 11 win team...

There it is right there, no Aaron Smith, no Casey Hampton, no James Harrison, no Lamar Woodley, no Ryan Clark, no James Farrior, no Larry Foote, no Brett Keisel, when that defense was together where were you going to break in? Unseating Troy Polamalu? Lawrence Timmons? Ike Taylor? or any of the above?

To play early you have to have opportunity, there isn't a defensive coordinator in the NFL that would have broken up that defense to get a rookie onto the field. This year however, do opportunities exist? H3ll yea, NT, RDE, ILB, ROLB, FS, LCB, the givens are Cam, Timmons, Worilds, Ike and Troy, the rest are up for grabs, probably won't be taken by a rookie, but opportunity exists, unlike a few years ago.

If it wasn’t obvious that first-round pick Ryan Shazier would be in the starting lineup when he opened his first spring practice with the starters, it should be now. Linebackers coach Keith Butler reiterated the team’s commitment to playing a rookie in the middle of their defense.

“Normally, I’m not a big guy with rookies,” Butler said. “In fact, I don’t like to play rookies because in defensive football there are two things that get you beat. One of them is missed tackles and the other is mental mistakes.

“And normally when you come and try to learn this defense it’s going to take you a little while to do it. [Shazier] understands concepts and he picks things up a little easier than most rookies have. We have a lot of new faces on defense, so we don’t have a choice whether we can play him or not. We have to play him and we have to be faster and we have to win.”